How To Disable Windows Defender In Windows 10?

Blog Summary – Is Windows Defender interfering with a function on Windows? You can easily disable it using these methods given below.

With malicious content flowing everywhere, to stay protected against threats you must have an anti-virus or a protection tool running on your computer, right? Well, Microsoft provides you with just the right thing – Windows Defender, which is an inbuilt service running constantly on your PC. You might have seen notifications showing the reports from Windows Defender. It usually runs in the background and keeps your device and data safe from malicious attacks.

However, sometimes, there could be an application which cannot be run because of an interference from Windows Defender. Or you might be performing troubleshooting on your system which requires you to temporarily disable the Microsoft service. In this blog post, we will tell you the safe ways to disable Windows Defender from the Registry, Group Policy and Windows Security.

Well, if you are thinking of using Windows native security app, Windows Defender, let us explain a few things about it.

Shortcomings of Windows Defender

Although Windows Defender is quite a robust security tool, it doesn’t protect against new malware, web monitoring, and more. Therefore, Windows Defender fails to provide all-round protection. In addition to this, if you are short on resources or want to give other antivirus applications, disabling Windows Defender is suggested. Doing so will save you from any kind of software conflicts.

So, let’s learn how to disable Windows Defender in Windows 10.

Ways to Disable Windows Defender

You can disable Windows Defender using these three methods:

Method 1: Windows Security

This will disable Windows Defender temporarily when you want to make changes, which could otherwise be hindered.

Step 1: Go to Start-> Type Windows Security and press Enter to get Windows Security.

Step 2: Click Virus & threat protection.

Step 3: Under Virus & threat protection settings, click Manage Settings.

Step 4: Disable Real-Time protection by clicking the toggle switch.

Once done, the antivirus will disable the real-time protection letting you install apps, do certain tasks that were not allowed earlier.

You can enable Windows Defender once your work is done or leave it as it is.

Method 2: Using Group Policy

If you have Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise, you can use Local Group Policy to disable Windows Defender. To do that, follow these steps:

Step 1: Press Windows and R to get a Run box and type gpedit.msc to launch Group Policy Editor.

Step 2: Navigate to Computer Configuration-> Administrative Templates-> Windows Components-> Windows Defender Antivirus

Step 3: Locate Turn off Windows Defender Antivirus.

Step 4: From the new window, click on the radio button beside Enabled to get it done.

Step 5: Click Apply and OK.

This will permanently disable the feature unless you change it.

Method 3: Use Registry

You can use Registry Editor to disable Windows Defender. Before going further make sure, you take a backup for Registry Editor as a wrong action could let your device malfunction.

Steps to take a backup of Windows Registry

Step 1: Press Windows and R and type regedit and press enter.

Step 2: On Registry Editor, go to File-> Export.

Step 3: A window will open to save the backup of registry files on your preferred location.

Disabling Windows Registry via Registry Editor

Step 1: Press Windows & R to Run window and type regedit.

Step 2: Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE->Software->Policies->Microsoft->Windows Defender.

Step 3: On the right side of the panel, locate Default.

Step 4: Right-click on the right side of the window and click New->DWORD(32-bit) value

Step 5: Name the key “DisableAntiSpyware” and press Enter.

Step 6: Once the file is created, double click it & set the value to 1

Step 7: Click OK to confirm and restart your computer.

In this way, you can disable Windows Defender on your desktop. This will disable the app, but it will not uninstall it as it is a native app of Windows.

Additional tip

To enable Windows Defender, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Press Windows & R to Run window and type regedit.

Step 2: Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE->Software->Policies->Microsoft->Windows Defender.

Step 3: Locate and right-click DWORD file and click Delete to remove it. Restart Windows to let the changes take effect.

Wrap Up

So, these are the simple methods to disable Windows Defender on your Windows 10 computer. While the easiest method is to use the Windows Security application. One might want to permanently disable Windows Defender with Registry Editor or Group Policy Editor.

If you still have doubts and are thinking about whether to disable Windows Defender or not try using Systweak Antivirus. The best part about this security tool is that it doesn’t conflict with Windows Defender. Also, it protects the system from computer viruses, malware, ransomware, and other malicious threats.

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